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21 March 2011

JotForm, the first web-based WYSIWYG form builder, allows users to create and publish web forms using your browser... but that's just the start. Take this brand new feature just added to JotForm; you'll be glad you did!As you may know, Dropbox is an online file synchronization service that comes in the form of a web interface and an application available for many different platforms (PC, Mac, Android and more). It's an easy way to share files between multiple devices and a good alternative to emailing stuff to yourself.

Now you can connect your JotForm forms to your Dropbox accounts. Here's how it works: each time someone fills out a form, the results get sent straight into a JotForm folder in your Dropbox so you don't have to download attachments from your email each time someone sends you a file.

It gets even better. Conveniently, this integration isn't limited to form attachments. The creative minds at JotForm have made it so that the form results (in a PDF file) are sent in as well. How great is that? You can now access your form responses quicker than ever before using your computer with Dropbox installed, or your phone with the Dropbox app.

JotForm has set up a dedicated Create a Dropbox Form page that will allow you to easily set up a sample form with Dropbox integration pre-installed. You can also enable Dropbox on your current forms by going into the Submissions page for your desired form, clicking the Preferences icon at the upper right, and selecting Send Submissions to Dropbox, like so:

For either choice you will be taken through a small wizard. Enter your Dropbox credentials and you're in. Now here's an example of what would happen if you follow the aforementioned procedure. Check out this example of a form I've set up with Dropbox integration. Someone has filled it out and attached some files:

The sender clicks "Submit Form", and done! Dropbox reports that three new files have been added:

Now here's where JotForm's WYSIWYG nature kicks in. JotForm will organize responses for you, saving you time. It will put responses in a JotForm folder in your Dropbox and sort those responses by form name (in case you have multiple forms set up for Dropbox) and ID. You can also configure the integration so that it names response folders based on what the user typed for their Name or their Email instead of the ID, or even throw everything into the form folder without sorting. It's up to you!

How can users put JotForm to best use? We foresee using JotForm as making it easier for site managers to share user photos, for instance. Since such a site would have loads of uploads each day, having all of them downloaded automatically to your computer would definitely be quick and easy. Compare it to the current alternative: drilling through a bunch of emails and manually downloading each and every attachment your loyal users have sent you. Ugh!

This article was written by Rey M. Levenstein, a tech trend-watcher whohas previously written for Sync Blog and now manages WAFFLE.